The Dangers of the “Galaxy Brain”: A Conversation About Longtermism

Wednesday, October 25, 2023 - 5:00pm

Please watch the video of this event on our YouTube channel.

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Longtermism, an offshoot of Effective Altruism, is not just an injunction to consider the well-being of future generations. Rather, it provides a philosophical justification for de-emphasizing present social crises in order to pursue a Matrix-like future involving the colonization of space for billionaires and other elites. Sam Bankman-Fried was a proponent and funder of longtermist thinking, and Elon Musk has called it “a close match” for his own worldview.

Émile P. Torres is a scholar and activist who, with Timnit Gebru, coined the term TESCREALism to describe a cluster of transhumanist ideologies of which Longtermism (L) is the “galaxy brain.” A former Effective Altruist, Dr. Torres now sounds the alarm on TESCREAL’s association with eugenics, political violence, and ecological risk.

What kind of future are we trying to build? Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Torres followed by dinner discussion for and among MIT students. Reservation is required.
 

Location: Hacker Reactor (Bldg. E38-696 in Kendall Square)
292 Main Street (beware that GPS may change this to 292 Mass Ave: the appropriate address is on Main Street, in Kendall Square)